unbuttoned
Americanadjective
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not buttoned.
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Informal. free, open, or informal; unrestrained.
unbuttoned humor.
adjective
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with buttons not fastened
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informal uninhibited; unrestrained
hours of unbuttoned self-revelation
Etymology
Origin of unbuttoned
First recorded in 1575–85; un- 1 + buttoned ( def. )
Explanation
Something that's unbuttoned isn't closed or fastened. Your unbuttoned sweater won't keep you very warm on a cold, windy day. The adjective unbuttoned is what you need when you're talking about a piece of clothing with buttons that aren't fastened, like your unbuttoned wool coat or your unbuttoned, rolled-up shirt sleeves. You can also describe a relaxed or uninhibited person as unbuttoned: "My mom is kind of uptight today, but on the weekends she's way more unbuttoned."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They conflate the actress with her role, argues Natasha Vargas-Cooper, a pop-culture historian and the author of “Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America” — maybe because of the intimacy of TV.
From New York Times • May 17, 2013
Unbuttoned point buttons were, for him, the collarly equivalent of the blaringly loud go-to-hell pants memorably described by Tom Wolfe as the tribal colors of the trad class.
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2013
Unbuttoned from time, transient and transcendental, Brodman saw the true shape of his life, how it had torqued always in the direction of duty.
From The New Yorker • Jan. 28, 2013
Unbuttoned his olive hunting jacket and shrugged it off.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
She drew off his cunning wee stockings, Unbuttoned each dainty pink shoe, Untied the white slip and small apron, And loosened his petticoats, too.
From Our Boys Entertaining Stories by Popular Authors by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
